Marcus Aurelius, ~170 AD
From a Private Notebook
The most powerful man alive — a Roman emperor — kept a private notebook never meant for publication. These are entries he wrote to himself:
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to live. While you are alive, while it is still possible — become good.
The length of one's Life is not what matters, but how it is lived. Look at the vastness of time behind you, and before you another boundless space. In this, what is the difference between one who lives three days and one who lives three generations?
Everything you hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything you see is a perspective, not the truth. Very little is needed to make a happy Life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.